9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 6 Review: The ATX Files
Jasmine Blu
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We had aliens, ghosts, worms, and idiots!
You have to hand it to the series for taking a unique approach with 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 6, an hour that felt more like a Halloween theme than Valentine's Day one.
Love was in the air with Tommy's heartbreaking grief journey and Judd learning how to connect with Wyatt.
You can't say this installment wasn't bizarre. It's the type of random madness that 9-1-1 has a knack for pulling off as well. The fun type of installment that serves as a filler between other things.
Most of us are still reeling from this revelation that Judd has a near-adult son, and a portion of the hour was devoted to Judd trying to bond with this kid he never knew about to form a connection.
I got a 17 year old Texas boy who doesn't eat meat and never fired a gun plugged outside of a game console, so that's about as alien as it gets to me.
Judd
It's still a tough storyline for us to wrap our heads around. It's still weird that Judd never bothered to get a paternity test when it seemed reasonable to do, given the situation.
And for some reason, we have not delved into the necessary conversations that this situation calls for in the first place.
Wyatt and his mother seem perfectly lovely, but Judd harbors a lot of guilt because he wasn't there for his son. However, the elephant in the room is that he could not be there for someone he didn't know existed.
When exactly will Judd and Wyatt's mother have an honest conversation about that? She's not a bad mother for doing what she feels was in her child's best interest. Nevertheless, no one can ignore the effects.
The onus was on her to inform Judd of something and give him the option of being in his child's life. He never got that opportunity at all. We see how much it's killing Judd that he wasn't there for Wyatt, and he knows how important it is for a father to be in a child's life.
Judd: Grace, we need your help.
Grace: That's what I'm here for, Judd.
Judd's father kept him on the straight and narrow as a former troubled kid. Wyatt is a good kid, so he doesn't appear to have any issues, but it's evident how much he wanted a father in his life. It sucks that he didn't get this opportunity until now, and we need to know more about why that was the case.
It's one of the things that makes this storyline difficult to chew. It's like we're not talking about any of this, and these are conversations that need to occur.
It was also bizarre that Wyatt's mother didn't mention to Judd and Grace that he's vegan. It's Texas, after all. Vegans should come with a disclaimer within a state where the food is more often than not the antithesis of vegan-friendly.
Teens often fail to think about those things, and they've implied that Wyatt is the type who doesn't want to make waves and is a sensitive kid, so his mother should've shared that tidbit before she let him stay with the Ryders for the weekend. It was just one of many things that made Judd feel out of touch with his son.
The alien-hunting was this desperate attempt at Judd doing something that was on his son's level so that they could bond, and it hurt to see Judd struggling that much to forge this relationship. He was a nervous wreck about it and beat himself up at every turn.
It didn't help matters that Wyatt seemed to bond better with Owen than Judd.
Hell, as we're still reeling from this arc and reaching for explanations, you almost wondered if One Night Strand was Wyatt's father. Of course, it was simply another way to shoehorn Owen into a storyline. It's become such a common occurrence for this series it has become a staple.
Nevertheless, Owen's alien obsession was amusing, and his friendship with Judd is always lovely. His screentime wasn't bad here; it was just weird again because sometimes it genuinely doesn't feel necessary.
Despite Wyatt sharing similar interests with Owen, he loved spending time with Judd, and in the end, that's all that mattered. Even though this storyline is polarizing, Wyatt is a sweet kid and likable.
The radiation case was nuts! Why are people so stupid?! If there are aliens, why would they want to slum it with a globe filled with morons like the pair who smeared radioactive elements all over them and sold it off for profit?
Every time you think someone can't get any stupider, they moonwalk underneath the bar that's already damn near in hell as it is. They almost took a whole household out on a sweet woman's birthday because they sold a glowy blue necklace to her daughter.
The highlight of the case was Grace being the ultimate badass. They've been testing her nerves this season, and she's been letting folks have it! Grace is always a godsend. Her cussing out the credit card company, who refused to give her the woman's name, was hilarious and a mood.
Wyatt: This was the best weekend of my life because of you.
Judd: What are you talking about?
Wyatt: I always wanted to go camping with my dad.
And it was also a fun nod to her previous work when they opened the hour with the gun-safe couple getting into more trouble. Grace told that poor girl to dump her boyfriend, and she should've listened! Always listen to Grace.
Tommy's case was one of the grossest imaginable. Are there people who don't wash their produce? And if so, does seeing paramedics pull a bunch of roundworms out of someone's nose change your minds about that?
The gross case did lead to some reflection for poor Tommy. Grief is ongoing, and kudos to the hour for exploring that.
Tommy was dealing with nightmares and feeling as if Charles was haunting her as they neared her and Charles' anniversary, and that psychic seemed to pick up on that well.
Your heart just breaks for Tommy, who is still trying to go day by day raising her girls and grieving for the love of her life. And there are some moments when it's significantly more challenging than others.
Charles, if you're here with me right now can you give me a sign? Can you make the lights flicker? Please?
Tommy
Her moments during her grief therapy were moving, but nothing topped the sit-down dinner she had where she spoke to Charles and asked for a sign.
The flickering lights that the mice caused may not have been Charles as she presumed, but the candles gave her some comfort.
It was as if he was telling her that he was doing well and that she needed to forgive herself for not getting there in time and everything else she's holding onto regarding their marriage and his death.
Gina Torres is brilliant, and she, too, was a highlight of this unusual hour.
You felt the absence of Carlos, Mateo, Paul, Marjan, T.K., and Nancy during this one. Hopefully, we'll see more of them soon.
Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics. Was this hour a nice break from the norm? Are you enjoying this Judd and Wyatt storyline? Hit the comments.
You can watch 9-1-1: Lone Star online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
